The following recipe is one from Mom’s recipe box. I asked her today to pick out a recipe and tell me about it, who gave it to her and such. She chose the Zucchini Casserole that LaVerne Gallagher had given to her in Mom’s early cooking years.
The Gallaghers ran the Gallagher Machine Shop in Gridley, Kansas and LaVerne was the wife. LaVerne was probably in her 40s when Mom and Dad were first married. It was the only machine shop in Gridley. A machine shop is where they fixed the farm equipment, “like if a disc was broken, they would put new things in it and fix it for people”. LaVerne gave Mom this recipe because Mother had so many zucchinis that she didn’t know what to do with. This was before Mom and Dad moved to Chase County and they were first married. Mom doesn’t remember the exact moment that she got the recipe.
- 2 Pounds zucchini squash
- 1 pound bulk sausage
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
- 1/2 cup fine cracker crumbs
- 2 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1/4 teaspoon ground thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup cubed Parmesan cheese
Wash squash and trim off ends. Cut in thick slices and cook in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and chop squash coarsly. Cook onions and sausage in skillet until sausage is browned. Drain fat. Use a little fat to grease the casserole. Combine squash, sausage, crmbs, beathen eggs, thyme, salt and half of the cheese. Turn into shallow casserole dish. Top with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes, until hot through and cheese is melted. Serves 4.
This recipe helped Mom to get rid of some of her zucchinis and she says that Daddy liked it a lot. I’ve thrown out so many zucchinis this late summer because I didn’t have time to figure out what to do with THEM!! You know the old story about the very same ONE Zucchini that is given away to 20 different households! **chuckle** NOW you know how to break that vicious cycle! KEEP that zucchini and make LaVerne’s casserole.